Hillsboro looked like gangbusters at the start, but as the game wore on turnovers and penalties drained the Trojans’ hope for a second straight win with a 20-6 loss to the Kingman Eagles at Joel Wiens Stadium.
After Kingman’s wind-aided kickoff rolled into the end zone, the Trojans set up camp at their 20-yard line. Eighty yards and 3:18 later, quarterback Kaden Kleiner ran off left tackle for an 11-yard touchdown. Wes Shaw missed the extra-point kick. but Hillsboro led, 6-0.
That score held until early in the second quarter, when Eagles’ quarterback Riley Krehbiel capped a 65-yard, 10-play drive with a 4-yard keeper into the end zone with 10:01 left in the half. Luis Franco kicked the extra point for a 7-6 lead.
Hillsboro started its first drive of the second quarter on its own 14-yard line. But Kleiner fumbled on the first snap and the ball was recovered by the Eagles’ Seth Siemens at the Trojan 25. Two plays later, Krehbiel broke off right tackle and dashed 20 yards untouched into the end zone. Franco’s kick boosted Kingman’s lead to 14-6 with 9:02 left in the half.
Kingman recovered its pooch kickoff at the Trojan 33-yard line, but Hillsboro’s defense prevented further damage.
The Trojans remained within a touchdown of tying the game until early in the fourth quarter. A Shaw punt gave Kingman the ball at the Eagles’ 48-yard line, but the visitors appeared to run out of downs on fourth-and-7 at the Hillsboro 49. But Kingman’s Christopher Ontiveros faked the punt and dashed 20 yards up field for a first down at the 29.
From there, Kingman’s running game simply overpowered a worn-out Trojan defense until William Milford crossed the goal line from seven yards and seven plays later. Franco’s kick was dead-on perfect, capping the final score at 20-6.
The loss evened Hillsboro’s record at 1-1, and improved Kingman’s to 1-1. The Trojans will travel to Hoisington next Friday to take on the Cardinals, who defeated Kingman 7-3 in their season opener a week ago.
